External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, addressing a parliamentary consultative committee, made it unequivocally clear that India had communicated to the United States its readiness to respond even more forcefully if Pakistan launched a larger counterattack following Indian military strikes.

This stance was relayed during heightened tensions after India’s Operation Sindoor, which targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan in response to the deadly April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 people.

Jaishankar firmly refuted allegations—raised by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi—that Pakistan had been forewarned about the Indian strikes.

He clarified that this was a misrepresentation of facts, stating that only after the official commencement of Operation Sindoor was Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) informed, and even then, the communication was limited to confirming that only terror infrastructure had been targeted. There was no advance warning before the strikes.

During the panel, Jaishankar explained that the Indian government’s message to the US and other concerned foreign governments was straightforward: “They fire, we fire; if they stop, we will stop.” He emphasized that if Pakistan escalated the conflict with a bigger attack, India would respond with even greater force.

This posture was also communicated when the US shared intelligence suggesting the possibility of a large-scale Pakistani retaliation.

Jaishankar also clarified the process that led to the cessation of hostilities. He stated that the ceasefire was the result of direct military-level engagement between India and Pakistan, specifically through DGMO-level talks, and not due to foreign mediation, as some international actors, including the US President, had claimed. The ceasefire was initiated after the Pakistani DGMO contacted the Indian side, leading to an immediate halt to military actions.

Additionally, Jaishankar addressed queries about the Indus Waters Treaty, indicating that India had the infrastructure and intent to put the treaty in abeyance if required, with concrete steps already underway to ensure tangible impact on the ground.

Jaishankar’s briefing highlighted India’s uncompromising stance on responding to cross-border terrorism and its readiness to escalate military responses if provoked, while also rejecting claims of advance warnings to Pakistan and emphasizing the direct nature of the ceasefire negotiations.

Based On ET News Report